FicheTri&Me

#Thing19 – Podcasts

 

First of all I am very grateful to this “Thing” for introducing me to the wonderful Irish History Podcast - http://irishhistorypodcast.ie/ which is the Podcast I chose to download and review and now I am hooked!

Prior to this my experience of Podcasts was limited to the worldwide sensation that was the “Serial” podcast – which I mostly chanced upon as it was a watercooler topic in the workplace and also I was training for my first ever 5k and so it was something to listen to whilst I plodded around on dark cold nights. However, once it was over I never really expanded my inquiries into the world of podcasts much and especially not as a tool that librarians or academics would use. However, I downloaded the Soundcloud app (on android – a very straightforward experience) and I also use the Castbox app – again a very straightforward tool although searching for what you want on it can be a little tricky occasionally. I immediately got stuck into the Famine series of podcasts and apart from fulfilling my own deep interest in Irish history I tried to be conscious of how podcasts could help me as a librarian. These are just a few of the things that occurred to me:

 

• A great way to do research when approaching centenaries etc of historical events and you are wondering how your library may contribute / participate etc to events surrounding that – because you can listen as you go, you won’t get bogged down in reams of paper and books whilst trying to sort out themes and issues pertaining to said event
• Alternatively, if there is not a podcast already out there on the topic, your library could use all that paper-based research to produce a podcast and thereby make it more accessible to a wider range of people who may have an interest in the topic
• The hard work has already been done in grouping topics together, identifying key issues, putting things that fit together into one episode etc – you could reflect all of those things in a physical exhibition in the library
• A worthwhile podcast created by your library could be a great way to advertise your library and your exhibitions / research materials to a wider audience
• And of course they are a terrific resource to point any of your visually impaired library users to – we would all do well to be aware of what’s available out there.

As for the Famine series itself  - I loved it. Very informative, narrated at a nice pace, great use of sound effects - particularly liked the "Famine tour" through Dublin. And adequate number of episodes to leave you fulfilled but not overwhelmed. 5 star rating from me!